Andrew George of Three Rivers Pride stops by Keep Your Voice Down to chat about the upcoming and first ever Pride Festival in the City of Three Rivers on Saturday, June 24. Andrew, Alek, and Doug talk about how a Pride flag ban protest and the community support it garnered spurred on the creation of Three Rivers Pride Festival, how it all came together in under six months, and details on what to expect at the event.
Alek Haak-Frost
A St. Joseph County Circuit Court jury returned guilty verdicts this week on four of five charges lodged against 29-year-old Sturgis resident Brandon Forbes, who attacked a family member with a hammer in 2022.
Kim Moffat, executive director of We Are Voters and prolific podcaster (Here’s What’s Happening, Dawson’s Darlings, My America), joins Alek and Doug on Keep Your Voice Down this week to discuss all things voting. We Are Voters is a nonpartisan nonprofit that aims to reimagine civics education, reestablish a healthy dialogue concerning government and politics, and build stronger, more informed voters regardless of political affiliation.
Watershed Voice Executive Editor & Publisher Alek Haak-Frost explains why what Watershed Voice is, is less important than who Watershed Voice is, when contemplating whether to donate and/or subscribe during our Spring Member Drive.
Watershed Voice (WSV) was awarded a $25,000 community impact grant on Thursday, April 13 from the Sturgis Area Community Foundation (SACF) for Watershed’s Community News Coalition project.
With the recent passing of Dr. John K. Hartman, a professor who impacted Alek and Doug‘s lives and a great many others, the Keep Your Voice Down hosts decided to honor Hartman with a special episode. Fellow Central Michigan University alums Chad Livengood (Detroit News Politics Editor) and Steve Coon (CMU instructor, Grand Central Magazine advisor) join Alek and Doug to reflect on the life and impact of a truly great journalistic mind, and a loving friend, mentor, husband, and father.
It can be hard for a kid to navigate the pitfalls of adolescence. The staff at Three Rivers Middle School wants to help. That help comes in many forms, one of which is a program called TRAILS – Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students.
Alek’s childhood friend and standup comedian Rio Riojas stops by Keep Your Voice Down to discuss his recent foray into the world of standup comedy and his upcoming show in Kalamazoo (Wednesday, March 22 at Final Gravity Brewing Company, 8 p.m.). The Bay City native and East Lansing resident tells Doug and Alek about how he got started, how his act has evolved over the last year, his comedic style, how becoming a father has influenced the way he performs onstage, and why you shouldn’t bring your kids to see his act.
Three Rivers Public Library Director Bobbi Schoon returns to Keep Your Voice Down to discuss the library’s involvement with the Smithsonian’s Spark! Places of Innovation program. Spark! explores the unique combination of places, people, and circumstances that sparks innovation and invention in rural communities. The Three Rivers Library will be hosting its very own exhibit alongside a traveling Smithsonian exhibit that will make its way to the library this summer.
Alek, Doug, and Bobbi also discuss Women’s History Month, National Reading Month, and the myriad of ways citizens of Three Rivers can engage with the library.
Alek and Doug welcome poet, community activist, voice actor, author, and Watershed Voice columnist and board member Aundrea Sayrie. The long awaited interview with one of Watershed’s founding members doesn’t disappoint as Aundrea talks the origin story of Three Rivers Open Mic, her Black History Month series on WSV and why she decided to change the format this year, her ongoing health concerns and how they have changed her outlook on life, and an upcoming book she’s written about professional voice acting.
This week on Keep Your Voice Down, Doug and Alek are joined by Jackie Koney, chief operating officer of The Mill at Vicksburg, and friend of the show, Dan Moyle. The quartet discuss the progress of The Mill project and its 110-acre campus being developed for craft brewing, entertainment, tourism and more, right here in Southwest Michigan.
Alek and Doug are joined by Watershed Voice’s new staff writer and longtime food columnist Beca Welty to discuss her new role, her journey from “Judge Welty’s kid” to super mom and super baker to community journalist, and her thoughts on the maddening, yet highly entertaining third season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime.
The past year for Watershed Voice was eventful to say the least, and while we plan to have more on that later with some Year in Review pieces to start 2023, our staff needs a break to rest, recharge, reflect, and refocus in anticipation for the year to come.
Alek and Doug discuss the week that was in Three Rivers, the resurrection of the Three Rivers Commercial-News, the news landscape in St. Joseph County, and what the future may hold for Watershed Voice as a daily news source in this new era of community journalism.
“The Three Rivers Commercial-News was a fixture in this community for 127 years. It preserved the town’s history, and provided vital information for its readers across parts of three centuries. It was the old guard, a publication that withstood so much, and meant even more to the people it served.”
This week’s episode of Keep Your Voice Down includes the harrowing tale of a vet visit with three cats, thoughts on Doug and Alek’s respective and very different Thanksgiving dinners, an award-winning trip to Austin, #GivingTuesday, and future plans for Watershed Voice.
Your friendly neighborhood newsperson needs a favor. So hear him out, yeah?
Watershed Voice was the recipient of two LION Awards in the Public Service and Outstanding Coverage categories presented at the Independent News Sustainability Summit in Austin, Texas last week.